This invention relates to a locking device for a small watercraft. More particularly, the invention pertains to a locking device pivotally connected to a mounting on the hull of the watercraft for selectively locking the steering mast in an upright position for servicing and maintaining the engine.
Various types of small watercraft have been provided which include a raisable steering mast pivotally secured to the watercraft for movement between a substantially horizontal position and an upright position. Such watercraft typically have steering means supported on the upper end of the steering mast for steering the watercraft when the mast is in either of these positions or any position in between. These masts have been arranged so that when the watercraft is being operated with the steering mast in an upward and rearwardly extending position and the operator is inadvertently displaced from the watercraft, the steering mast, as a result of its weight, automatically pivots to its substantially horizontal position.
Previous watercraft steering masts have also been arranged so that they could be pivoted to an upright and slightly forwardly extending position so that the steering masts could be propped up using a rod pivotally secured to the front portion of the nose of the watercraft near the bow. An example of such an arrangement is set forth in Japanese Patent No. 60-121993.
The present invention is designed to eliminate the need for a rod to maintain the steering mast in an upright position and thereby provide a neater appearance for the watercraft. It is a further object of this invention to provide a compact locking device pivotally connected to a mounting on the hull for locking the steering mast of a small watercraft in an upright position for servicing the engine.